1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a mounting bracket for mounting a post to the frame of a vehicle. In one of its embodiments, the invention relates to a mounting bracket for a vehicle fender bracket that is offset from a pre-drilled hole in the frame of the vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Posts are mounted to the frame of a vehicle, such as truck-tractor or trailer, for the purpose of providing a mounting point and support for accessories such as quarter fenders, tandem mounts, and mud flaps. Prior art post-mounting methods have taken various forms. These prior art mounting methods include securing the post to the vehicle frame, directly in alignment with a hole in the vehicle frame, by passing a threaded bolt through the hole in the frame and into a threaded insert in the end of the post. The prior art methods also include securing the post to the frame by means of a flange or a plate which is welded to the end of the post, the flange or plate then being bolted to the vehicle frame. Other methods include adapting a post mounting plate to take advantage of existing bolts already attaching other equipment to the frame.
Also included in the prior art are applications using an offset post which is integral with a mounting tube, which, like the conventional straight post, has a threaded insert which receives a bolt passed through the vehicle frame.
The prior art methods have several disadvantages. The conventional straight post is limited to being attached at locations where a hole exists in the frame, or requires that a hole be drilled in the frame at the precise location desired for the post. The post with integral mounting flange or base plate again requires that the holes in the frame align with the location desired for mounting the post, and often requires a plurality of holes be drilled in the frame to align with the holes of the specific flange.
The offset post mounting method has the advantage of being flexible with respect to the location of the hole through the frame. However, there are applications that use differing posts, where an offset mounting is desired but offset posts for that application may not be common stock items. Having the offset mounting available for these new applications would require having an additional inventory of components available to the installer, in the form of straight and offset posts for each type of installation. Another disadvantage in the known offset post mounting methods is that the offset mounting is subject to movement about the axis of attachment of the offset mounting to the frame.
It would be advantageous to provide an post mount that provides the flexibility of offset mounting from an existing penetration in a vehicle frame while resisting rotation of the mounting about that penetration, and further reduces the need for a large inventory of specialized components for installation.
According to the invention, a bracket assembly for mounting an accessory on a vehicle comprises a bracket including a frame-mounting block and an accessory-mounting plate, and a rotation-resisting fastener. The frame-mounting block has an inner face adapted to abut a vehicle frame and an outer face spaced from the inner face and a frame-mounting opening passing through the frame-mounting block transverse to the inner face for receiving a fastener for mounting the bracket to a vehicle frame. The accessory-mounting plate has an inner face oriented toward a vehicle frame when the bracket is mounted to the vehicle frame and an outer face adapted to abut a vehicle accessory. The inner face of the accessory-mounting plate is spaced outwardly from the inner face of the frame-mounting block to accommodate a bolt head when the bracket is mounted to the vehicle frame. The accessory-mounting plate further has an accessory-mounting opening in for receiving a fastener for an accessory. A rotation-resisting fastener is mounted to one of the accessory-mounting plate and the frame-mounting block and adapted to resist rotation of the bracket about an axis passing through the frame-mounting opening.
In one embodiment of the invention, the accessory-mounting plate faces are parallel, and the frame-mounting block faces are parallel.
In a further embodiment of the invention, the bracket assembly includes a threaded opening for threadably receiving the fastener adapted to resist rotation.
In a further embodiment of the invention, the bracket assembly includes a frame-mounting fastener received within the frame-mounting opening for mounting the bracket to a vehicle frame.
In a further embodiment of the invention, the bracket assembly includes an accessory-mounting fastener received in the accessory-mounting opening for mounting an accessory to the bracket.
In a further embodiment of the invention, the accessory-mounting plate forms a circular seat for mounting the accessory.
In a further embodiment of the invention, the accessory-mounting opening is parallel to the frame-mounting opening.
Further according to the invention, a vehicle accessory and mounting bracket assembly for mounting on a vehicle frame comprising a vehicle accessory including an elongated post and a mounting as described according to any of the above embodiments of the invention. An accessory-mounting fastener is received in the accessory-mounting opening and fixed to the end of the vehicle accessory. A frame-mounting fastener is positioned in the frame-mounting opening for attaching the mounting bracket to a vehicle frame.